Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wants to phase out American financial support for Israel while regional tensions intensified over stalled Iran negotiations and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wants to gradually eliminate American financial support for Israel over the next decade while strengthening strategic partnerships with Gulf nations, according to remarks aired Sunday during an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes.
“I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have,” Netanyahu said in comments reported by Reuters.
Netanyahu noted that Israel currently receives approximately $3.8 billion annually in American military assistance under a broader agreement expected to total roughly $38 billion through 2028.
The Israeli leader said he believes the current geopolitical climate presents the appropriate moment to fundamentally reshape the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“I don’t want to wait for Congress,” Netanyahu said. “I want to start now.”
Netanyahu also acknowledged declining public support for Israel within the United States and blamed the rapid expansion of social media platforms for shifting public perceptions.
He argued that foreign countries had “basically manipulated” social media in ways that “hurt us badly.”
Clips and commentary surrounding Netanyahu’s remarks circulated widely on social media posts discussing the interview.
According to Reuters, recent polling from the Pew Research Center found that 60% of American adults now hold unfavorable views toward Israel, while 59% expressed little or no confidence in Netanyahu’s handling of international affairs. Both figures reportedly increased seven percentage points compared to the previous year.
During the interview, Netanyahu declined to discuss operational details involving Israel’s ongoing military confrontations with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, he argued that weakening or removing Iran’s current government would dramatically alter the balance of power across the Middle East.
“If this regime is indeed weakened or possibly toppled, I think it’s the end of Hezbollah, it’s the end of Hamas, it’s probably the end of the Houthis, because the whole scaffolding of the terrorist proxy network that Iran built collapses,” Netanyahu said.
Additional excerpts from the interview were shared online through video clips posted on X.
The remarks came amid growing friction surrounding negotiations between the United States and Iran over a proposed ceasefire agreement and maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Axios and CNN journalist Barak Ravid, President Donald Trump spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday after reviewing Iran’s latest response to American-backed negotiations.
Ravid wrote in a post on X that Trump described the conversation as cordial but emphasized that negotiations with Iran would remain under American control.
“It was a very nice conversation. We have a good relationship, but this is my business, not anyone else’s,” Trump reportedly said regarding the Iran talks.
Trump later publicly rejected Tehran’s latest proposal in a Truth Social post.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump wrote.
Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency indicated that Tehran’s proposal focused primarily on ending military operations while postponing detailed negotiations regarding its nuclear program until later discussions.
According to reporting cited by The Epoch Times, Iran’s proposal also emphasized restoring maritime security in the Persian Gulf and lifting American sanctions and naval restrictions.
Iranian state television reportedly said Tehran remained willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if hostilities permanently ended and U.S. sanctions and naval blockades were removed.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained one of the central flashpoints in the conflict, with Iran maintaining significant control over shipping access through the strategic waterway since the early stages of the war.
Trump separately accused Iran of deliberately prolonging negotiations with the United States for decades.
“Iran has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years (DELAY, DELAY, DELAY!),” Trump wrote.
“For 47 years the Iranians have been ‘tapping’ us along, keeping us waiting, killing our people with their roadside bombs, destroying protests, and recently wiping out 42,000 innocent, unarmed protestors, and laughing at our now GREAT AGAIN Country. They will be laughing no longer!” he added.